Dorna’s Top Secret Plan for Road Racing in America

You can’t keep secrets in motorcycle racing circles. Too many people like to demonstrate how well connected they are by letting friends, fellow racers and yes, even sometimes the media, know how well connected they are and how they know some “top secret” information.

The hot rumor circulating the paddock at Road America this past weekend was the possible formation of a new road racing series, spearheaded by former GP World Champion Wayne Rainey and backed by Dorna. Yes, that Dorna, the one that runs MotoGP and World Superbike.

There were various iterations of the rumor, but no one wanted to go on record. When a voice recorder came out, everyone clammed up.

The most popular version of the rumor is that the FIM has the power to institute “Continental Championships” since the FIM is divided into six geographic subdivisions. So, just as there can be a European Road Racing Championship, as there has been in the past, theoretically there might also be a North American Road Racing Championship (the U.S. and Canada).

That is apparently what is now being explored by Dorna. How Rainey fits into the equation is not totally clear at this point, other than with someone of Rainey’s stature leading the way, a new road racing championship would have instant credibility with fans and riders.

What I can gather is that Dorna would very much love to keep two MotoGP rounds in the U.S. In spite of the impact of the recent recession, the U.S. is still the largest big-bike market in the world and having the premier road racing championship here is considered vitally important to Dorna in terms of global advertising.

The problem is American fans are fairly provincial and there is a very real prospect that there will be no Americans in MotoGP next season. It is feared that without American riders MotoGP races here (especially two of them) will not be viable.

The current professional road racing system in America doesn’t seem to be producing riders who can compete on the world level (E.g. look at the results of AMA Superbike Champion Josh Herrin in Moto2). So Dorna feels there is need to form a better feeder system in America.

One would assume a Dorna-run North American Championship would take a form similar to the Spanish CEV Championship, which recently was upgraded to an International Championship status. If I were to guess in America, we would likely see a Superbike class and either a 600 Supersport or Moto2 class and possibly also a Moto3 class.

Everyone I talked to in the paddock at Road America was enthusiastic about the prospect of a Dorna series in the U.S. and Canada. Most feel the Daytona Motorsports Group (DMG) is failing at the task of properly running road racing in this country.

What does this mean for AMA Pro Racing (DMG)? Well it’s not good.

When professional road racing was run under the auspices of the American Motorcyclist Association in Pickerington, Ohio, the manufacturers were very much vested. In fact, manufacturer representatives were on the AMA’s racing board. The Japanese makers were also very tradition and FIM-affiliate bound, so it was highly unlikely they would back any series outside of the AMA umbrella. And they never did.

That afforded a lot of protection for the old AMA Road Racing Championships. Now that a separate entity runs racing (DMG, whose board members primarily have a backgrounds in auto racing) and little direct involvement by the motorcycle manufacturers, the current day AMA Pro Racing in no way enjoys the same backing and across the board unity behind their championships that the old AMA had. That means the timing is right for Dorna to come in and expect to receive backing from the manufacturers.

It’s going to be interesting to see how this all plays out.

I for one feared this kind of fracturing of America’s domestic motorcycle racing championships once the AMA in Ohio, sold off the properties.

I too am excited by the prospect of a Dorna series headed by Wayne Rainey, but I doubt America can support two professional-level road racing championships. – Larry Lawrence

15 thoughts on “Dorna’s Top Secret Plan for Road Racing in America”

Hear hear it’s about time somebody or so bodies will be stepping up to the plate. When I heard that the DMG series was initially was not going to have a west coast round of there series I was floored as the west coast makes up at least half of all motorcycles sales in the US every year. It came as a relief to see John Ulrich and crew step up to the plate and create a three race series that was well attended by all the factory Superbike teams except for as well as sponsored by Yamaha, Geico and Arai as well as a host of others they even came in with there own TV package, the DMG series did not even have a TV package when they announced the dates for the 2014 Series. Now WERA has a 10 race Pro Series with a TV package in place for next year. I for one look forward to seeing what happens in the next few months in regard to the renewed interest.

I hope we don’t get 2 series competing against each other. WERA is supposed to be starting their Pro Series. Hopefully they can work together. Maybe let Rainey work with the Clarkes, with FIM sanctioning and get the US back to a world class racing center. The talent is here, it just needs a place to develop!

WERA the answer? I don’t think so. People forget when Ohio AMA had the series how people complained it sucked. I was getting into racing AMA toward the tail end and I remember private team owners complaining loudly that the manufacturers had to go that it was the manufacturers that were mucking up the series and that the rules favored the high dollar manufacturers making it impossible to compete. i.e. Jordan’s interviews about not being able to get parts at any cost. This all started Pre-DMG to my recollection. Now many of those private money teams aren’t even in the paddock. Then there is this thinking about America being the largest market. For what bikes? My research shows the #1 supplier to be Harley Davidson who sells cruisers only and they are smart enough to have their own series within a series that is doing just fine. And that company takes it on the chin at times and they are the best at just matching riders with correct bikes for billions of dollars annually. DORNA however gets it….they have proved they know marketing, they know the industry and the know how to make money. Can they do it in the USA…..without the fans,,,,,,no, so they have a long road ahead. This isn’t the UK, Italy, Spain or Japan whose TV viewership is in the millions and where the culture supports the activity. In the USA we are lucky to have a couple of hundred thousand watch on TV, and that’s MotoGP! It will be a challenge for anyone who takes over. I for one would love to see the change and see an outside the USA source bring in their expertise.

I started RR in 1983. In 1985 we started racing the AMA EBC endurance series. Several things that were then but not now include; large grids, large spectators and lots of tracks. There was enthusiasim and fun being at the track. There were lots of facvtory and mid-level sponsors. Racers were allowed to run whatever brand tire they wanted, whatever fuel they wanted and the racing was close and exciting. Now jump forward to the mid-nineties. AMA ousted Roger Edumson and lost a lawsuit to him. The Pro Racing division of AMA then proceded along with a recession to chase most poor competitors from the paddock. Then came the big sale to DMG and then we got spec tires, spec fuels and a reduction in what could be done the motorcycle. To say all theses changes had a negative effect on racing can substansiated by the size of grids in the three AMA classes and the number of races per year. I would say that the recession not withstanding, that the flow of Pro Racing in the US has taken a giant leap backwards. My two cents.

Wow. I could see a unified North American championship; I wouldn’t categorically leave Mexico out, even — although I don’t know if there’s a circuit that would meet FIM standards. (I’m not even sure about all the ones used in the current Canadian series.)

It’s possible that Dorna realizes that the World Championship needs American riders as much as American rounds, and that the best way to ensure that will happen is to have a stronger domestic championship as a feeder. And yes, Dorna’s seemingly better than DMG at a lot of things.

That said, as other commenters have noted, the U.S. ain’t Europe. I frankly doubt that Dorna has the patience, deep pockets, and marketing savvy they need to raise the profile of U.S. racing to European levels.

This certainly is an interesting development, although Wayne Rainey has kept such a low profile in motorcycle roadracing, that one might legitimately question whether he’s the right person to lead such an effort. Certainly, our sport has been in decline for many years and there are multiple factors to spread the blame: the economy, lack of manufacturer involvement, inability of riders and teams to deliver sponsor ROI, complete absence of series promotion and a series owner that views itself as merely a sanctioning body, not a marketing and promotion organization, not to mention a fan base (that was never very large to begin with) that has completely turned its back on the sport and walked away. With three bodies currently jockeying for attention, AMA Pro, GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout and WERA Pro, the market for viewership is as crowded as it is weak. DORNA would definitely have its work cut out for them; if they are expecting an immediate return on investment, their project is doomed to fail. However, if they are entering the market with a long term strategy in place, with money and resources allocated for marketing and series promotion on national and local levels, they may have a chance at success. They need to not only convince the fans who have abandoned motorcycle roadracing, but win over new audiences and overcome an American cultural bias against motorcycles in general and sportbikes in particular.

For the plan to succeed, they will need the cooperation of factories, teams, racers, media, press and fans, most of whom, have become disillusioned by the current state of the sport. This is a tall order and will require a herculean effort by everyone involved, to prevail.

I don’t know that WERA is the answer, but I know the answer is not having multiple series dividing a small pie. The mishandling of the pro series by the AMA is well known. When the economy was good, even they couldn’t kill it, but when it went down, the series fell apart, as we have seen. And DMG has finished it off. But I hope they pay attention to what happened to open wheel racing when they split into 2. And there is a lot more money available for those guys. One well run and marketed series could regain the standing the US once had in the racing world. Two or more will just make us more of a laughingstock. American kids shouldn’t have to go to Spain or England in order to learn their craft against top competition, they should be able to do it here, and make a living off it!

Are kids making a living off racing anywhere in the world? I am talking the club racing and feeder level racing that develops a rider who may be good enough to move to Motogp, world superbike etc…someday

I started racing in 1982, raced until 2003. When I wasn’t racing I used to watch every race I could, now until fanschoice put it up most the races couldn’t even be watched if one is so inclined. I too raced the wera EBC endurance series and it meant alot of time and travles to attend all the events. it doesn’t seem like the current racing available is anywhere near as big of deal. I welcome a change and let the better organization win.

WERA with Sean Clark running a professional series in the United States? Do you really want to see that & think that is some massive improvement? Really? Have you seen what the vast majority of the WERA racers in the US think of that guy & his condescending, know-it-all (but never ridden on a racetrack) attitude? You have got to be kidding me!

I humbly defer judgement of the operation part of running a race series to those with experience. I do however see that in order for success to occur you need three things, competence, passion and money. Guess where DMG is lacking? Road racing in the USA was withering before the recession. It’s also clear that a racing series needs focused practical adjustments or it at best just stagnates. Right now in the USA, pro road racing is circling the drain. We need a change in the USA scene BAD! Certainly if Dorna steps in they will make some mistakes but the current state of affairs in dooming us all.

Wow Gerhard, awful lot of hate because I let a guy you don’t like race. I’m honestly sorry to see it, we miss having you at the races. As for the insults to WERA and therefore Evelyne I’ll just assume those are still head trauma leftovers, they obviously don’t make sense logically. WERA under her direction is the standard in this country that all other organizations are held to when it comes to running motorcycle roadraces. Call that comment ego all you like, talk to anyone who has been around this industry and WERA for any length of time and they’ll say the same.

On the original subject rather than the vitriol, WERA has always been willing to work with other orgs. We’re working with CMRA on Endurance this season as well as sprint racing, we’re talking to AFM about possibilities in the future, we’ve worked with USBA for a couple of years at our event at Miller, we work with AMA in Ohio doing the roadrace portion of the Vintage Motorcycle Days. We tried to work with DMG and were rebuffed. We would gladly work with anyone else who is looking to do a National level Professional Series. In the meantime we’re going to do it on our own with the ultimate goal of putting on good racing for the riders and fans.

Top line racing should be exactly that with the manufacturer being able to stretch it’s legs rather than being held back by rules that belong in club racing to save money..
The last time Ducati went well was when tyres were made to suit their bike and what’s wrong with that.
One of our sponsors slogans is “release the potential inside” that’s what should be aloud.

In the late 20th century Americans ruled the world road racing circuits.
All a person had to do was to buy a bike, and decide to race AMA, WERA, or both series. Do well and you got a chance to get picked up.

Back then I knew which class was the premier class, now I cannot decipher what race I am watching.

Now, I get hopeful when I read about a 16 year old rider who is riding well in a Pro-series, then I am extremely disappointed when for some reason or another the MAGIC seems to fade away as well as the rider.

I hope for any series to produce a world class rider, but I believe that American culture towards two wheeled motor sports is the real enemy here. Remembering my last WERA Grand National race in the fall of 1986 I can only marvel at the multitude of national riders who skyrocketed out of that year; just look at the results to see all of the now infamous past champions.

I wish all of the different series, and the riders to work together to produce quality, high caliber, enigmatic riders who can carry the American banner at the front of the world series pack again. I will support that series.